New Baltimore fire crews put out blaze at local diner

By
Mitch Hotts, The Macomb Daily

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

New Baltimore firefighters were able to stop a fire from destroying a popular diner on 23 Mile Road on Tuesday evening.

Fire crews were called to Anchor Bay Pit Stop Diner on 23 Mile near Jefferson Avenue about 4:45 p.m. after passersby reported seeing heavy smoke coming from the rear of the structure. They were able to extinguish the blaze in about 15 minutes.

“This could have been much worse,” said Fire Chief Brian Bilinski. “The guys did a great job in knocking down the fire in their interior attack and confined it to the kitchen.”

The cause remains under investigation, but fire officials do not suspect foul play. The restaurant is primarily open for breakfast and lunch and was closed for the day when the fire was reported.

The incident caused a traffic backup during the afternoon rush hour in the area as firefighters had to stretch a hose across 23 Mile Road, which blocked the road for a short time.

Bilinski said building owner will have to make some repairs to the interior, which had a lot of smoke damage, but the building is not a loss.

“Once they do a little cleanup and make some repairs, I fully expect them to be back open relatively soon,” Bilinski said. “It’s a popular restaurant in our town.”

Ira Township firefighters manned the department’s station while New Baltimore personnel handled the fire.